Show ContentsO'Davoren History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

All Irish surnames have a long, ancient Gaelic history behind them. The original Gaelic form of the name O'Davoren is Ó Dabhoireann, or also Dubhdabhoireann, derived from the words dubh, which means black, and an da Bhoireann, which means of the two Burrens. 1

Early Origins of the O'Davoren family

The surname O'Davoren was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they have been anciently seated as Chiefs of their territory at Cahirmacneaghty. They were anciently a Dalcassian sept of Brehons (Judges or Lawyers) and came down to Clare from the north probably sometime before the 10th century to settle in their north Clare barony at Noughaval, wherein this distinguished sept had their own mortuary chapel within the Church of Noughaval.

Early History of the O'Davoren family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Davoren research. Another 141 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1317, 1364, 1634, 1741 and 1746 are included under the topic Early O'Davoren History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Davoren Spelling Variations

Names written in official documents were generally spelt as they sounded, leading to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion in records of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname O'Davoren that are preserved in documents of the family history are Davoren, O'Davoran, O'Davoren, Davoran, Devoren and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Davoren family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

  • Gillananaev O'Davoren, the Chief Judge

Migration of the O'Davoren family

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name O'Davoren: Michael O'Deveren arrived in Pennsylvania in 1854.


Contemporary Notables of the name O'Davoren (post 1700) +

  • Vesey O'Davoren (1888-1989), Irish actor, known for his roles in Winds of the Pampas (1927), The Lady Objects (1938) and Raffles (1939)


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)


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